It Will Last Forever
by satomobile
Summary: Lin sees Tenzin's airbending tattoos for the first time. For Linzin Week on Tumblr. Prompt: Tattoos.


Scraaatch!

"Shut. up. you stupid. branch," Lin groaned through gritted teeth from her bunk at the Beifong Metalbending Academy. She looked at her window into the dark night sky to see the outstretched fingertip of an oak tree scratching adversarially against the glass. She made a mental note to get rid of it first thing in the morning. The wind howled and the branch scratched again. In a huff she turned over and pulled the blankets over her head, folding a pillow around her ears.

Scaaaatch!

With a grunt she kicked her feet out in frustration. No amount of cushioning could absorb that annoying sound. The wind picked up again and the branch began tapping out a beat. Tossing her blankets off the bed in anger she slammed her feet against the wooden floor.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

It was decided. She stomped over to the window throwing it open. Reaching out, she grabbed the twiggy end of the tree and snapped it as a maniac would snap a neck.

"That ought to shut you up," she commented darkly to the broken wood in her hand. She drew herself back into the window and as she pressed the frame downward she heard a voice from below.

"A little irritable tonight, are we?" the voice snarked.

She stuck her head out the window again and looked down. There stood a tall, very lanky, very bald young man. She blinked twice. She might not have believed what she was seeing if she didn't also see Oogi's tail sticking out from behind a fir tree.

"Tenzin?"

"Maybe a pebble against the window would have been more romantic?" He shrugged, grinning widely.

She returned his smile, unable to contain herself. She hadn't seen Tenzin in over three months. Three months ago she left Republic City for the academy to begin her police training. She had to leave behind her mother, her friends, and her boyfriend- who used to have hair. Now, she could see a bright blue arrow adorned the crown of his head. It shouldn't be a surprise, she knew he would be getting his mastery tattoos within weeks of her departure, but seeing him now it felt as if she were seeing a brand new person. He rubbed his hand across the arrow once, looking up at her.

"What do you think?"

"You're bald," was all she managed to say.

"By choice," he reminded her. He continued looking up at her window, waiting for her to speak but she simply continued to stare. "Are you going to invite me in?" he finally asked.

"I'm not allowed to have men in here," she replied. Men, she said because he wasn't really a boy anymore.

"Oh." Tenzin looked down at the ground as if all his hopes for this evening had been dashed.

Lin let out of laugh, "I'm kidding. You think I wouldn't invite you in after you came all this way?" Lin stepped back from the window to allow him the space he needed. With a small snicker at his own naivety, Tenzin spun himself a funnel of air, lifting him to the second story.

He entered the window a little less gracefully than planned and stumbling he ran directly into Lin. She caught him quickly, straightened him up and stood on the tips of her toes to press her lips against his before his equilibrium had fully returned. He returned her kiss eagerly, his hands moving directly to her hair, steadying himself against her shoulders with his forearms. Pulling back finally he rocked back on his heels before planting his feet firmly on the floor.

"Hi," he smiled at her, catching his balance fully.

"Hi," she returned circling her arms around his ribcage and squeezing him tightly. She pulled back and looked up at him curiously, "I feel like I'm cheating on you."

Tenzin's face screwed up with worry, "What?"

"You just look so different," she explained.

"Bad different?"

"No, just...different."

Without a word, Tenzin brushed a stray hair behind her ear. He kissed her again, softer this time, savoring her presence. It had only been a few months, but it felt like an eternity since they had seen one another. After a lifetime of daily contact their separation felt like being sentenced to solitary confinement.

"I missed you," he told her softly. She smiled.

"Let's see it then."

"See what?"

"Your tattoos," she replied. She wiggled her eyebrows up and him, "Take it off." Lin fell back on her bed, stretching out and propping her head up on one hand. He sighed and she twirled her finger at him, instructing him to do away with his newly acquired robes.

"Still bossy as ever," he grumbled, pulling the garment over his head. Standing before her in nothing but his underwear he turned around once with his arms outstretched, inviting her opinion.

"Come here," she directed, sitting up. He took a seat beside her on the edge of the bed. She watched him quietly. After a moment he felt one finger gently trail along his arrow down to the small of his back.

"You're peeling," she observed in a whisper, never taking her eyes off his back.

"It's trying to heal," he informed her, looking over his shoulder. They met eyes momentarily before she returned her focus to his tattoos. She lifted his arm delicately, inspecting the line that ran upward ending along the underside of his bicep.

"Did it hurt?"

He shook his head, "I was meditating the whole time. It's the only way to get through it." She nodded, looking distant. He looked across the room at her open wardrobe and caught a glint that shone off the metal armor inside.

"Looks like I'm not the only one with a new look," he commented, tilting his head in its direction. Lin's eyes followed and she smiled bashfully. She stood, walking over to the wooden doors to close them, hiding her uniform.

"What! You aren't going to let me see it?"

"You've seen it before," she insisted, leaning back against the cabinet, "my mother wears it everyday."

"I've never seen yours," he countered. She chewed her lip and broke into a smile.

"Fine," she relented, opening the doors and pulling her armor free. She crossed the room and held it out to him, "hold it." He reached forward, gripping the cold metal. Lin let go of her uniform transferring its full weight into Tenzin's unprepared hands. It slammed to the floor with unexpected force.

"Holy- that's heavy," Tenzin exclaimed jumping back from it quickly to Lin's amusement.

"Its supposed to represent the weight of our responsibility," she sighed, "according to my instructor."

"You have to wear that everyday?"

She nodded, "I do. Nobody else does." He gave her a puzzled look. "The others aren't able to manipulate it yet."

"But you can," he smiled with a hint of pride in his voice.

She shrugged, "In fairness, their mothers didn't invent metalbending."

When she took a seat beside him again, he tried to look into her eyes, but her gaze was trained on his forehead. Her eyes darted around, studying the arrow that now existed there in permanent recognition of his airbending mastery. He watched as her face turned from curious to contemplative and then finally to sad.

"Are you ok?" he asked. She looked away without a response, confirming that his concern was warranted. It wasn't like Lin to be so quiet and without opinion. When she didn't reply he slid his hand along her jaw and gently turned her head to face him. "Lin," he pled in a softly, "talk to me."

She sighed and met his eyes again, "I feel old."

He suppressed a laugh, "You aren't even twenty."

"But this is it," she sighed, pulling away from him and laying down on her bed, "your tattoos and my armor- its changed everything."

Change. That is what this was about- he could have kicked himself for not getting it sooner. Lin, like most earthbenders was unwavering, steady, true, and extremely resentful where change was concerned. He stretched out beside her and put one arm on her waist, drawing her flush against his chest. She didn't resist and he began rubbing her back as he felt her warm breath against his skin.

"Change isn't always bad," he said tentatively. A puff of hot air brushed his chest when she scoffed. "It's not," he continued, "don't pout."

"I'm not pouting," she snapped, pushing away from him. His hand remained firm against her back and she gave in easily, staying where she was. "Its just different now, Tenzin. We used to talk about what it would mean to follow in our parents footsteps, but now we're actually doing it. I'm going to be here another year and a half and when I get back I'll have work to consider and you will probably be on the council and we won't see each other at all and-"

"And what?" he interrupted, shifting himself up to look her in the eye. She looked away.

"And what if we don't make it?" she mumbled finally. Tenzin leaned down to kiss her once on the lips.

"I didn't know you worried about things like this," he said with a smile.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Try not to look so excited about it." Her annoyance only served to widen his grin. He reached down and laced his fingers through hers. The pad of her thumb absently rubbed across the rise of his skin where it swelled from blue ink.

"We will be fine."

"Platitudes," she countered.

"I mean it," he insisted.

"How do you know? You can't see the future," she argued.

"Because I love you," he returned.

"You think that's all a relationship needs?" She condescended to him like an adult would an idealistic child.

"I'm sure of it," he confirmed, leaning in to kiss her again. She accepted it this time, sliding her hand up his arm and around to the back of his neck drawing him in to deepen their kiss. "Nothing will change the way I feel about you," he continued just as he felt Lin press into his groin.

"Tenzin?"

"Yes?"

"Stop talking," she instructed. He obliged.

She wasn't completely at ease, the future was still the great unknown and they were standing on the edge of adulthood trying to find their footing. She didn't know where exactly their lives would take them, but figured those worries could be saved for another day. For now he was here and they were in love. Tonight, that was all that mattered. As they kissed, she silently prayed to the spirits that they would remain as permanent as his tattoos.


End file.
